flash games are also games, so you will have enough experience in a few years and 22 is not a bad age to start. the youngest age i could have gotten my degree was 24...and well, i didn't.
flash games are also games, so you will have enough experience in a few years and 22 is not a bad age to start. the youngest age i could have gotten my degree was 24...and well, i didn't.
I agree 100%! Plus, it'll help be build a portfolio of stuff, plus I can tell employers to look at a certain website to show what kind of things I've been doing. My current flash class is pretty fun (even though REALLY easy), and the class + the academic price on Flash CS3 came out about even to buying flash by itself.
It took me longer to get my degree because a bunch of crap was happening in life and there were just things I didn't anticipate that just delayed me. Luckily, there were a bunch of guys in their 30s and 40s who were getting the same degree I was getting, so I didn't feel so bad about getting lagged.
You know, even if you don't have the experience, you should try applying anyway if you've got your degree. That's what all my recent grad buddies tell me, anyway.
Think one of many ways to get into the game industri, is like doing what the people are doing with the halflife remake, Black Mesa, yeah they use alot of free time, but in the end, it will open alot of doors for those talented people in the future.
On the heals of RMJ1984's statements, having a project you worked on is extremely important.
However, please don't fall into a trap and think only you can make your own project all by yourself! If you can find other people who are decidated and skilled enough to work together on a project, do so! There's this fallacy some have where the only way their project work will be attractive to employers is if they do everything in the project. In truth, an employer wants to know how you work with other people. Being able to say you worked on a team project to create a title is more useful to an employer than showing you can work only by yourself.
Course, this advice falls into the 'do as I say, not as I do' category. My undergraduate thesis Antidote was done almost entirely by myself (besides the principal photography for the live-action video). This wasn't by design, but at the time I was the only one seriously interested in video game career at the college. This hurt the project as corners were cut and the project ultimately incomplete. With a post-production crew of at least one more person, the project would be complete as intended.
Actually, there was one student who expressed similar interests with a 3D animation focus. However, he felt it was better to work on his non-interactive animation short all by himself. Haven't heard much from him since graduation.
However, please don't fall into a trap and think only you can make your own project all by yourself! If you can find other people who are decidated and skilled enough to work together on a project, do so!
Well, finding people is half the battle, actually, and from my years of experience in the indie adventure game dev scene, people are actually more likely to want to work with you if you actually have created projects of your own. And then, there's the whole issue of project management, which many people seem to forget about, resulting in overly-ambitious projects that get dropped because they're so disorganized that no one can actually handle them.
When it comes to the games I've actually finished, so far, they've all been games I've created by myself. I still have yet to work in an indie game dev team that doesn't disband before the game's completion. That said, I currently am working on a game with a team, and I have high hopes for it, although if it does succeed, it will be an exception rather than the rule. Bottom line is, working in a team is not inherently superior to or easier than working alone. Same goes the other way around.
Edit to Add: Out of curiosity, what do you think of auteurism in game development? Do you think it's easier or harder to create a unique, unified creative vision for a game if you work in a team rather than alone, in other words?
One professor of mine once said, that in his opinion, Project Management should be a mandatory course for every student in the whole university, not just for the Economics course.
Nowdays I tend to agree with him. People brush things such as project management off, saying 'how hard could it be?' and 'anyone can do it!', but time after time, it's exactly the project management where the faults of unsuccessful projects often lie.
Well, finding people is half the battle, actually, and from my years of experience in the indie adventure game dev scene, people are actually more likely to want to work with you if you actually have created projects of your own.
Yes, I don't claim that finding and working as a team is easy. However, it does set all the members of the team apart by showing they have the skills to work collaboratively. What's sad is when people only want to work on established projects, though I can certainly see the appeal. It's horrible to put your efforts into a project that falls apart due to someone else's lacking. This is where the individual needs to make sure that no matter what happens, they can still demonstrate there work in some form on the project regardless on 'who' they worked for. If that project fails, you can go to the next more demanding project as you have more to show off.
Bottom line is, working in a team is not inherently superior to or easier than working alone. Same goes the other way around.
Agreed. I stress team work for individuals wishing to seek employment at a studio. Showing you can work on a team does set one apart from other applicants who only have solo projects on their belt. And there are a lot of people who only have solo projects on their CV.
Edit to Add: Out of curiosity, what do you think of auteurism in game development? Do you think it's easier or harder to create a unique, unified creative vision for a game if you work in a team rather than alone, in other words?
For anyone else not familiar with Auteur theory: It's the theory that there is one author of a creative work whom is attributed as the author of a media text. A similar understanding to a writer authoring a novel. Usually used in film context, but I see no reason to exclude from interactive storytelling.
I'm in the position that it is harder to use an Auteuristic approach to game design in a group development team at the current time. My reasons are purely due to the tools needed to produce such works. While certainly not impossible, to create a project as a team requires a lot of successful communication. When you also factor in the high bar of expertise needed for the tools of production, it only further complicates production. On the downside, going alone limits the scope of the project substantially.
This isn't to say we don't have game designers as Auteurs. Will Wright, Sid Meyer, Waren Spector, and a bunch more come to mind for mid-1990s to current day. Course, in the 70s and 80s almost all video games were developed by one individual, but the production values for these games were limited enough where one-person teams were possible. With current production values, it's harder for any one person to place an expensive gamble on economic success of a project. It will take quite a few more years or decades or this industry to get to the point of production that media such as video and books are at currently.
At least we're at the point of producing episodic gaming. :-D
There is a really well done podcast by three senior game industry insiders talking about the industry and how it works called Game Theory. I found and listen to it through iTunes.
For anyone else not familiar with Auteur theory: It's the theory that there is one author of a creative work whom is attributed as the author of a media text.
I think that's a bit of an over simplification of the theory. Auteurism is more that the director exudes his style and influence throughout a movie and his productive career. For example, if someone were to unearth some previously unseen Hitchcock movie and showed it to you, you could probably tell that it was Hitchcock even if no one told you that he directed it. The lighting, writing, cuts, suspense, all of it just feels like Hitchcock. Truffaut felt that a truly powerful and talented director (an auteur) makes their vision shine through in all of their movies in spite of the various actors and cinematographers and so forth that might change from film to film.
I agree with Seg however, that there almost certainly are auteurs in the industry. Sid Meier, Will Wright, Tim Schafer etc all have very clear visions which seem to shine through in all of their works. I never really liked Truffaut's Director Deism concept; I really don't think that's how it works in film and especially not video games. I feel like the video game auteurs of the world have gathered people around them who share their vision and interests. So uh... yeah, what was the question again?
Oh right! Is it possible to make a game in this team setting and still maintain auteurism, to which I would say yes.
Whew. I just sent out a bunch of resumes yesterday and luckily I have found a good amount of open junior positions at game companies. I think I'll like being in an industry like gaming better than most because as a developer because I always had this fascination with fine arts and computing, and there was just something I liked while making some of these programs in class and fine-tuning them.
I have a decent fine arts background (basically my 2nd path for a degree) and I loved this power of creation that I had while taking that flash class. Even when it was on the classwide project, I enjoyed giving life to everything.
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I agree 100%! Plus, it'll help be build a portfolio of stuff, plus I can tell employers to look at a certain website to show what kind of things I've been doing. My current flash class is pretty fun (even though REALLY easy), and the class + the academic price on Flash CS3 came out about even to buying flash by itself.
It took me longer to get my degree because a bunch of crap was happening in life and there were just things I didn't anticipate that just delayed me. Luckily, there were a bunch of guys in their 30s and 40s who were getting the same degree I was getting, so I didn't feel so bad about getting lagged.
*will never by an Eidos game again*
However, please don't fall into a trap and think only you can make your own project all by yourself! If you can find other people who are decidated and skilled enough to work together on a project, do so! There's this fallacy some have where the only way their project work will be attractive to employers is if they do everything in the project. In truth, an employer wants to know how you work with other people. Being able to say you worked on a team project to create a title is more useful to an employer than showing you can work only by yourself.
Course, this advice falls into the 'do as I say, not as I do' category. My undergraduate thesis Antidote was done almost entirely by myself (besides the principal photography for the live-action video). This wasn't by design, but at the time I was the only one seriously interested in video game career at the college. This hurt the project as corners were cut and the project ultimately incomplete. With a post-production crew of at least one more person, the project would be complete as intended.
Actually, there was one student who expressed similar interests with a 3D animation focus. However, he felt it was better to work on his non-interactive animation short all by himself. Haven't heard much from him since graduation.
On a separate note, allow me to shamelessly promote my new blog Seg On Media with a discussion on video game curriculum in higher education.
Well, finding people is half the battle, actually, and from my years of experience in the indie adventure game dev scene, people are actually more likely to want to work with you if you actually have created projects of your own. And then, there's the whole issue of project management, which many people seem to forget about, resulting in overly-ambitious projects that get dropped because they're so disorganized that no one can actually handle them.
When it comes to the games I've actually finished, so far, they've all been games I've created by myself. I still have yet to work in an indie game dev team that doesn't disband before the game's completion. That said, I currently am working on a game with a team, and I have high hopes for it, although if it does succeed, it will be an exception rather than the rule. Bottom line is, working in a team is not inherently superior to or easier than working alone. Same goes the other way around.
Edit to Add: Out of curiosity, what do you think of auteurism in game development? Do you think it's easier or harder to create a unique, unified creative vision for a game if you work in a team rather than alone, in other words?
I shall read it.
Nowdays I tend to agree with him. People brush things such as project management off, saying 'how hard could it be?' and 'anyone can do it!', but time after time, it's exactly the project management where the faults of unsuccessful projects often lie.
Yes, I don't claim that finding and working as a team is easy. However, it does set all the members of the team apart by showing they have the skills to work collaboratively. What's sad is when people only want to work on established projects, though I can certainly see the appeal. It's horrible to put your efforts into a project that falls apart due to someone else's lacking. This is where the individual needs to make sure that no matter what happens, they can still demonstrate there work in some form on the project regardless on 'who' they worked for. If that project fails, you can go to the next more demanding project as you have more to show off.
Agreed. I stress team work for individuals wishing to seek employment at a studio. Showing you can work on a team does set one apart from other applicants who only have solo projects on their belt. And there are a lot of people who only have solo projects on their CV.
For anyone else not familiar with Auteur theory: It's the theory that there is one author of a creative work whom is attributed as the author of a media text. A similar understanding to a writer authoring a novel. Usually used in film context, but I see no reason to exclude from interactive storytelling.
I'm in the position that it is harder to use an Auteuristic approach to game design in a group development team at the current time. My reasons are purely due to the tools needed to produce such works. While certainly not impossible, to create a project as a team requires a lot of successful communication. When you also factor in the high bar of expertise needed for the tools of production, it only further complicates production. On the downside, going alone limits the scope of the project substantially.
This isn't to say we don't have game designers as Auteurs. Will Wright, Sid Meyer, Waren Spector, and a bunch more come to mind for mid-1990s to current day. Course, in the 70s and 80s almost all video games were developed by one individual, but the production values for these games were limited enough where one-person teams were possible. With current production values, it's harder for any one person to place an expensive gamble on economic success of a project. It will take quite a few more years or decades or this industry to get to the point of production that media such as video and books are at currently.
At least we're at the point of producing episodic gaming. :-D
Here is a link to it on the US iTunes Store:
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=220231116
It may give some insight.
I think that's a bit of an over simplification of the theory. Auteurism is more that the director exudes his style and influence throughout a movie and his productive career. For example, if someone were to unearth some previously unseen Hitchcock movie and showed it to you, you could probably tell that it was Hitchcock even if no one told you that he directed it. The lighting, writing, cuts, suspense, all of it just feels like Hitchcock. Truffaut felt that a truly powerful and talented director (an auteur) makes their vision shine through in all of their movies in spite of the various actors and cinematographers and so forth that might change from film to film.
I agree with Seg however, that there almost certainly are auteurs in the industry. Sid Meier, Will Wright, Tim Schafer etc all have very clear visions which seem to shine through in all of their works. I never really liked Truffaut's Director Deism concept; I really don't think that's how it works in film and especially not video games. I feel like the video game auteurs of the world have gathered people around them who share their vision and interests. So uh... yeah, what was the question again?
Oh right! Is it possible to make a game in this team setting and still maintain auteurism, to which I would say yes.
I have a decent fine arts background (basically my 2nd path for a degree) and I loved this power of creation that I had while taking that flash class. Even when it was on the classwide project, I enjoyed giving life to everything.